FIELD Brief 14: Leveraging New Media: Lessons from WOCCU’s MatchSavings.org in Mexico

Recognizing that savings can serve as a powerful tool for the poor to improve their livelihoods, the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) has experimented with innovative products and services over the years to bring asset-building savings accounts to the rural poor. In October 2008, WOCCU created the MatchSavings.org program and corresponding website to tap into the success of online microlending with an opportunity to encourage microsavings among vulnerable populations. Through the MatchSavings.org website, individuals could match the deposits of poor people beginning to save for the first time in a regulated financial institution. This allowed the beneficiaries the option to save for housing, microbusiness, education, or health care goals. Social media marketing techniques were employed to communicate the effectiveness of savings as a vehicle to alleviate poverty and leverage the generosity of online communities to support the program. This FIELD Brief shares WOCCU’s experience and lessons learned, which can be applied to other organizations exploring the use of social media and online fundraising to generate resources for similar programs.